Thanksgiving

We began our Thanksgiving festivities this year the way we always do: with the Turkey Trot.  We made our way downtown Minneapolis early Thursday morning for the run and it was cold!  We only completed 3 of the 3.1 miles of the race because Emily kept taking off her mittens and her little hands were like ice, which she was NOT happy about.  We eventually made it back to our warm cars, got cleaned up at home and headed to Patrick's aunt Tracey's house for the first meal of the day.  Tracey prepared a delicious feast and we all had a great time!

Patrick and I also got to attend Emily's Thanksgiving lunch feast on Tuesday.
It was fun to see her in her school element and I'm so glad that I made the time to be there!

Pre-race!

We then went home, checked in on the dogs and headed to Ham Lake for round two.  Everyone was there and ready to eat!  We mustered up the ability to eat one more Thanksgiving meal and spent the evening letting our food settle and watching the babies play.  Once we could barely keep our eyes open we hopped in the car and headed home to get some rest.

Baby play time!

Friday was filled with Christmas decorating, a little shopping (nothing noteworthy) and hosting a cookie exchange with my mom's family.  It was a great time and nice to get the family together around the holidays!

That's a lot of cookies!!

Now the Christmas season is officially upon us and we're looking forward to the busy month ahead.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well!
Happy Holidays,
The Harrisons

Old Saint Nick

We decided to visit Santa a little early this year to avoid the lines and it worked perfectly!  We walked right up and Santa had plenty of time to visit with Emily.  She did great - sat in Santa's lap while playing with jingle bells that he gave her, all without shedding one tear or begging to go back to one of us.  We didn't get a smile but I'll take the smooth, enjoyable experience any day.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we're gearing up for the holiday season!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Friendsgiving

Yesterday was our annual "Friendsgiving dinner" and it was so fun!  We purchased a new dining room table that was delivered on Friday so there was plenty of room for all of us and the food on the table.  It was nice to not have to get out the kiddie table this year!

Justin holding court!

Tricia at the kiddie table!

Relaxing before dinner

As usual Patrick outdid himself with the food, everything was so good!!  The turkey was moist and tender, the carrots, stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole were savory, the sweet potatoes were just the right amount of sweet and his homemade rolls were delicious.  We topped off the meal with my french silk pie and a bourbon/pumpkin torte.  Needless to say, I think I overindulged in all of the tasty food yet again!

We ended the night with a few games of Catch Phrase and Telestrations.  And just before the clock struck midnight and we all turned into pumpkins everyone was headed out the door to take a turkey induced slumber.

I'm a sucker for a "cheese!" face

Lucy and Matt - playtime with Emily

Can't wait to do it all again next year!
Happy Friendsgiving!

The reason for baking

This weekend Emily and I made pumpkin toffee cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They were pretty tasty, but the real enjoyment came from licking the beaters! I was glad to see that Emily enjoyed that part of the process as much as her mama does :)

Who needs paper??

If I said that Emily loves to paint, it would be an understatement.  She really LOVES to paint!  Tonight she ditched the paper and went with less conventional canvases.  It was a good time had by all Emily : )

She started with a self mani/pedi

And followed that up with a portrait on the bathtub!

Shaving cream and food coloring make great bath paints!

Happy Tuesday!!

Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween and Emily made out big in the treats department!!  She had a school party and went trick or treating at businesses around her daycare as well as at some friends houses in the evening.

Digging In!

Painting her pumpkin

Posing with mommy's pumpkin

Picking out candy for her teacher's bags!

NERDS!!

Arghhh...I'm ready for Halloween!

Treats from the school party

Ready for trick or treating

Emily and her friend Graham!

Hope you all had a ghoulishly great Halloween as well!!

Little fish

Emily loved going to swimming lessons this fall. We went to 8 sessions at the YMCA on Monday nights and Emily got really comfortable with the water. So comfortable that when we were at a water park in Wisconsin Dells she was jumping and sliding in the water without hesitation! She got good at kicking, scooping (arm strokes) and submerging!

Now that's determination

Playtime before lessons!

Can't wait for our next session!